6 - CAPE GAZETTE, Friday, January 10 - January 16, 1997
VIEWPOINTS
Editorial
Sussex lost great educational opportunity
On balance, Sussex County is less this week because Supreme
Court Justice Clarence Thomas, concerned by criticism from region-
al chapters of the National Association for the Advancement of Col-
ored People (NAACP), decided to cancel a trip to the Seaford youth
festival.
The NAACP criticism arises apparently due to Thomas&apos;s inclina-
tion against affirmative action programs designed to level the playing
field for minorities.
Criticism plays an important role in a democratic society. It's
through the dialogue that often arises out of criticism that we make
advances in our thinking.
Rather than discouraging Justice Thomas from coming to Sussex
because of his inclinations, all of us concerned about advancing our
:thinking should have encouraged his visit as an opportunity to deep-
en discussion of issues that affect our lives almost daily. When con-
troversial and powerful figures come into places familiar to us, we
tend to focus our attention on them and what they represent. His trip
offered an excellent educational opportunity because so many would
have come into contact with his thinking and could have entered into
dialogue with him, and others, about affirmative action and other
issues that may have been raised. We missed a good opportunity.
The man who encouraged and helped persuade Justice Thomas to
come to Sussex - before he changed his mind to avoid what he
thought might end up an unpleasant scene for a children's event - was
Dr. Ben Carson. Dr. Carson, an eminent Afro-American neurosur-
geon at Johns Hopkins University, spoke at the Sussex YMCA's
Century Club Dinner in 1995. Perhaps Dr. Carson could be called
upon to try to bring Justice Thomas to the Sussex YMCA for an
inspirational talk in a future year.
Letters
So many youth groups serve to inspire
The Lewes Christmas Parade - one of the few that survived drench-
ing weather this year - is long past now but not so the image of so
many Brownies, Girl Scouts, Boy Scouts, Cub Scouts and a variety
of church youth organizations marching down the street to celebrate
the Christmas holiday. There were literally hundreds of smiling chil-
dren shepherded by adults giving of themselves to strengthen the
characters and add enjoyment to the lives of the young people. It was
great to see so much community involvement. For many, such
scenes help deepen the sense of responsibility for working steadily in
our communities to improve and enhance social, educational and
environmental conditions so important now and in the future.
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A response from the
mayor of Lewes
I usually decide not to comment on
newspaper articles. They tend to tarnish
the image of a community. Some com-
ments are in the best interest of the com-
munity, many are personal interest. I do
believe there is a need to clarify some
statements.
The concerned citizens of Lewes have
continued to share their opinions per-
taining to the selection of chief of police
and charter changes. Many have spoken
to me.
Pertaining to the charter change in
question, legislative bodies are designed
to avoid ties. Look at your county, state
and federal legislative bodies and you
will see that is the case. That is the spirit
of basic democracy.
In response to statements pertaining to
appointments by the President of the
United States. One should first under-
stand that the president is a part of the
executive branch and he makes the
appointments. The legislative branch
confirms or rejects the appointments.
The legislative branch is designed to
avoid a tie vote. That is a reason why the
vice president is the president of the sen-
ate, he votes if the senate is evenly divid-
ed. The president submits another name,
if the initial appointee did not receive the
majority necessary for confirmation, not
because there is a tie vote.
Therefore the case of police chief is
completely different. In our case, at
least one councilperson who voted for
Lt. Gooch must change his mind to sup-
port him, otherwise a tie vote remains.
Unless one of these circumstances occur,
there is no need for the mayor to reap-
point Lt. Gooch or appoint another can-
didate because the situation would still
remain unresolved.
In response to the charter committee
being referred to as a kangaroo commit-
tee, would they have been given the
same title of they had voted 4 to 1 to dis-
approve the proposed charter change? I
think not. The city manager and attor-
ney had the right to give their opinion in
the matter. That certainly is not an
impropriety.
Some seem to have an interest in the
city's welfare, while others seem to be
concerned only with their personal inter-
est. The need for the charter change
extends beyond Lt. Gooch. The way the
charter now stands, the city could be
without a city manager, chief of police or
police officers indefinitely. There are
sections that refer to the appointment of
the building official and board of ethics,
to name a few. This is not good for any
city. Parts of the charter, as it now
stands, reduce the democratic process. It
appears that if the interest is in the well-
being of the city, they would know that
these charter changes and other charter
changes are necessary.
George H.P. Smith
Mayor of Lewes
Taking Lewes officials
to task over machine
This is an opinion paper presented to
your Forum by a concerned property
owner in Lewes, a well-educated, well-
adjusted mature woman with no ax to
grind with Councilman Pratt or anyone
else. Simply stated, it's time to speak out
against the way the governing of Lewes
is being mis-managed by the mayor,
some council people and the city manag-
er.
I h6pe the opinions expressed herein
will be carefully considered by Lewes
voters and that they will join me in
demanding forthright, honest govern-
ment for the town and in opposing gov-
ernment by the mayor for the mayor and
his buddies within the framework of the
political machine fostered by AI Stango.
I know that Smith, Ford and Pratt are
part of that machine because Stango
Continued on page 8
Volume 4
No. 34
Publisher
Dennis Fomey
Editor
Trish Vernon
News Editor
MichaelShod
News
Kerry Kester
Rosanne Pack
Jen Ellingsworth
Janet Andmlczyk
Photographer
Angle Moon
Sports Editor
Dave Frederick
Advertising Director
Carol Mawyer Fehrenbach
Advertising
Cindy Roberts
Nancy Stenger Joseph
Mariann Wilcox
Classified
Sandy Barr
Office Manager
Kathy Emery
Circulation
Harry Stoner
Production Staff
Susan Porter
Deidre Sudimak
Chris Wildt
Contributors:
Tim Bamforth
Susan Frederick
Nancy Katz
Geoff Vemon
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